Revelation (Written)

Monday, 5 October 2020

He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. Revelation 3:5

Jesus now explicitly states what He inferred in the previous verse. There, He said, “and they shall walk with me in white.” He now says, “He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments.” This is now the fifth promised blessing to those who overcome. Again, to understand what it means to “overcome,” and how that comes about, refer to the comments on verse 2:7 (and a fuller explanation in 2:26). In short, it is to accept the premise that Jesus is the Son of God and to receive Him as such by faith.

Those who so overcome “shall be clothed in white garments.” It is a sign of absolute sinless purity, and thus, it is the imputed righteousness of Christ. In this verse, we see a hint of how Christ was portrayed in the gospels while on the Mount of Transfiguration –

“Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. ³ His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them.” Mark 9:2

Matthew says, “His clothes became as white as the light” (Matthew 17:2), and Luke says, “His robe became white and glistening” (Luke 9:29). As we will be like Him (1 John 3:2), it can be inferred that the white promised now in Revelation will be such as this. It will be so white that nothing we now know will compare to it.

Next, Jesus says, “and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life.” The Greek reads, “the Book of the Life.” This is a note of absolute assurance of eternal salvation. To overcome occurs through faith in Christ. When one overcomes, he has overcome. Jesus says that he who overcomes will not have his name blotted out of the Book of the Life. Such a person has passed from death to life. He is, at that time, given a guarantee of that fact, the sealing of the Holy Spirit (see Ephesians 1:13, 14). Nothing will ever change this once it occurs, because it comes from God who does not make mistakes, who sees the end from the beginning, and who will neither be deceitful nor lie. As Albert Barnes says –

“The expression ‘I will not blot out’ means, that the names would be found there on the great day of final account, and would be found there forever. It may be remarked, that as no one can have access to that book but he who keeps it, there is the most positive assurance that it will never be done, and the salvation of the redeemed will be, therefore, secure.”

To ensure that this doctrine, that of eternal salvation or “once saved always saved,” is understood, Jesus continues with, “but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.” This takes us back to the thoughts found in Matthew and Luke –

“Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. ³³ But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 10:32, 33

“Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God. ⁹ But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.” Luke 12:8, 9

Jesus, speaking to Israel under the law, noted that the promises found in Him extended beyond the law to become general precepts in the time when He had fulfilled and set aside the law. He now confirms in Revelation that His words spoken then now carry the full force of what He had proclaimed. As Trench states –

“We may observe of this epistle that in great part it is woven together of sayings which the Lord had already uttered in the days during which he pitched his tent among men; he is now setting his seal from heaven upon his words uttered on earth.”

In confessing the names of those who have overcome, Jesus is saying that He is our Advocate (1 John 2:1) before the Father. His acknowledgment is that He took the penalty we deserved and He has granted us His righteousness. He has further granted us eternal life (John 5:26-28). In His acceptance, the Father likewise receives us as His adopted children. This confession before the angels of God means that they will stand down from executing the sentence upon those who would otherwise be cast into the Lake of Fire.

Those who overcome are forever secure from further judgment concerning condemnation. Believers must go to the Bema Seat of Christ for a judgment of rewards and losses, but this will not be a judgment of salvation or condemnation.

Life application: Later we will read this in Revelation 19:8 – “And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.” This is a less fortunate translation than versions that say, “righteousness of the saints.” What is being bestowed upon the saints is not a garment of white because of anything we have done. Rather it is bestowed upon us by faith in the work of Jesus Christ alone.

It is His righteousness that is imputed to us. There is nothing we can do to either merit God’s favor or to add to the work of Jesus Christ. The white garment then is a gift to the person who has, by faith alone, called on Christ as Lord.

The second honor is that He “will not blot out his name from the Book of Life.” This means that all people on earth are potentially in the Book of Life, but not all are actually there. This is the same as all people being potentially forgiven in Christ, but not all are actually forgiven.

It is rather unfortunate that people, when speaking of forgiveness, say that others “must forgive everyone who offends them.” This is not the biblical standard. Offering forgiveness and actually granting it are two different things.

God, through Jesus Christ, offers forgiveness to all, but not all are actually forgiven. To state otherwise is the heresy of universal salvation. To be saved, one must call on Jesus Christ and on Jesus Christ alone. There is no other way to the Father except through Jesus Christ. When a person does this, He promises that He will confess his name before His Father and before His angels. What an honor to those who believe! Jesus will openly acknowledge them to the Heavenly Host! Hallelujah and Amen!     

Lord God, give us the desire, the ability, and the wisdom to step out and proclaim the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the people of the world now, before the time comes when it will be no longer possible. Help us to make the best use of our time for Your name. We know there is a final destiny we all must face – either in heaven or in the Lake of Fire. It is certain that only through Christ will we be found worthy of being in Your presence. Amen.

Sunday, 4 October 2020

You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. Revelation 3:4

As noted in the previous verse, the Lord has been addressing the entire church. Specifically, his words are to the “angel,” meaning the leader, of the church. He stands as representative of the whole. In the previous verse, He gave a dire warning that if they don’t repent, He will come upon them as a thief in the night. The whole church would fall under judgment. But now, he gives words of great encouragement to faithful believers who are stuck in an area that has only a bad church to attend, saying, “You have a few names even in Sardis.”

The word “names” is given to represent individuals. There are some individuals who are in the church “who have not defiled their garments.” The meaning of this permeates Scripture. Garments stand as representative of the spiritual state of the person. Jude spoke on the same lines as the Lord does here –

And on some have compassion, making a distinction; ²³ but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh. Jude 1:23

Jude uses a different word, but the intent is the same. The book of Leviticus describes how to handle the effects of leprosy. One of the effects of this disease is that the garment itself could become a carrier, and therefore it was to be burned in order to prevent its infectious spread (Leviticus 13). Further, to touch any person, or any article touched by a person with a bodily discharge, would render the one touching him or it unclean (Leviticus 15, etc.). All of this was intended to convey spiritual concepts. Reading or watching the Superior Word sermons on those Leviticus verses will provide understanding on how this is so.

Again, this idea is seen also in the book of Zechariah –

“Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel.
⁴ Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, ‘Take away the filthy garments from him.’ And to him He said, ‘See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.’
⁵ And I said, ‘Let them put a clean turban on his head.’
So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the Lord stood by.” Zechariah 3:3-5

As is seen in that passage, the filthy garments are indicative of iniquity. The rich robes are then a state of being purified from that. Some individuals in Sardis had kept themselves pure and undefiled, even in the midst of this dead church. Jesus next says, “and they shall walk with Me in white.”

The “white” here signifies complete purification because of the righteousness of Christ. These people stood justified because of their faith in Christ, they were not a part of the dead church, but were rather acceptable to Him. Their reward awaited them for the lives they lived. To complete the thought, Jesus next says, “for they are worthy.”

Here, the state of these people is settled. There is no question concerning their salvation, nothing to pray about (Luke 21:36), and there is no hint that they could lose this. Rather, they were accepted, they were justified, and they will be glorified.

For these worthy people at Sardis, there must have been the thought that they were all alone in the world. But such is not the case. Throughout the world, and even in crummy churches, the Lord has a group of people who do understand His word, they accept Him by faith, and they live their lives in anticipation of His coming.

Life application: When people point fingers and accuse other churches of being wayward, they need to be careful to understand that even in bad churches there are good people. Jesus has had strong and disapproving words for the church at Sardis, and He certainly has strong and disapproving words for many churches and denominations in the world today. But Jesus searches the hearts and the minds of every person. In this, He seeks out those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. He will find good people in bad churches and bad people in good churches. He will weed out the bad and gather the good unto Himself.

Isaiah speaks of the state of the sinner before God, calling out for each to come to Him through Christ and be purified from their unrighteousness –

“‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ Says the LORD, ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.’” Isaiah 1:18

Lord God, may we trust in nothing less than the perfection of Jesus Christ and in His righteousness alone. In Him alone can we be cleansed, and so let us never put our hope in our own works. The things we do are already tainted with sin. How could that be pleasing to You? But by faith in what Jesus has done, we can stand before You pure and clean. Thank You for the perfect righteousness of Christ – granted by faith alone. Thank You for our Lord Jesus. Amen.

Saturday, 3 October 2020

Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. Revelation 3:3

The Lord just said, “for I have not found your works perfect before God.” Now, He tells them of the proper path to correct this, beginning with, “Remember therefore.”

Those at Sardis were to call to mind the past, and then to consider it in light of their current situation. This is especially important because humans are prone to forgetting many things. Israel forgot their fear of the Lord when they received the Ten Commandments in a terrifying display of sound and sensational effects. No sooner had Moses ascended Mount Sinai to receive the rest of the law than the people fashioned a false god. Along with this they had a big party to celebrate it. Peter, in 2 Peter 1, gives a list of things to do in order to not forget their own salvation. In verse 9 there, he says –

“For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.” 2 Peter 1:9

One can get so far from remembering the Lord, that he can forget he is actually saved. But… the Lord does not forget. This is seen in the next words from Christ to the church at Sardis. He says, “how you have received and heard.”

The two verbs are in different tenses. The verb translated as “have received” is in the perfect tense, indicative mood. It is an accomplished fact, and it is certain. The word translated as “heard” is an aorist verb, again in the indicative mood. It signifies the act of hearing at the time it occurred, but they did – in fact – hear. As this is the case, Jesus next admonishes them to “hold fast and repent.”

It sounds like Peter’s words of 2 Peter 1. They are to hold fast so that they will not forget. As a church, they had not followed the advice of the apostles to increase in their knowledge and so forth, and they had almost forgotten who they were as a church. In this, they are instructed to change their mind (repent) of their direction, turn from it, and head in the right direction. If they do not, Jesus says he will take direct action. This is seen in the words, “Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief.”

This goes back to the words of the previous verse, “Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain.” He instructed them to do so, and now, in repeating that thought, he adds in His solemn warning. The words, “as a thief in the night,” are given as a direct and unambiguous note that their time is short to return to a right path. There will not be another admonishment, but rather there will be judgment.

The term “thief in the night” is seen elsewhere, such as in 1 Thessalonians 5. It means at a completely unexpected time, and in a completely unexpected manner. When the thief comes at night, it could be at 9pm or 3am. And he could come in through the roof, or he could burrow in from underground. With darkness, these things are unknown.

It must be noted the Jesus is addressing the church as a whole. This does not mean that He is coming as a thief to steal away their individual salvation, nor could that be inferred. In fact, the very opposite of that is seen in the very next verse. He is speaking of judgment upon the church for their failure to properly handle its affairs.

With this understood, the Lord finishes the verse with, “and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.” The Lord exactingly explains what “as a thief in the night” means with these words. His judgment will not be preceded by any warning. He has given almost all of His word through His apostles. He is now giving His final words through the hand of John. When Revelation is complete, the word of God is complete. The age of such inspired prophecy will have come to an end.

Understanding this, the letters to the seven churches are our guidance. There is a time coming when the church will be taken out at the rapture. When that occurs, the focus will be on the completion of the covenant promises to Israel. This will include all of the curses upon the world that are spoken of after these seven letters. When Christ comes for His church, it will be as that thief in the night. After that, it will be too late for taking the remedial action He now speaks of –

“But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. ² For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. ³ For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. ⁴ But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. ⁵ You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. ⁶ Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. ⁷ For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. ⁸ But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. ⁹ For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁰ who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.” 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10

Life application: Jesus asks those in Sardis to “remember.” The subject of remembering and forgetting, and the call to remember is mentioned many, many times in the Bible. In the 78^th Psalm, we read this –

They did not remember His power:
The day when He redeemed them from the enemy, Psalm 78:42

Like Israel, who was redeemed from Egypt, the church in Sardis was redeemed from sin. But they both forgot that time and strayed from God. We likewise do the same and Jesus, through His seven letters, calls each of us to “remember.” We are to remember “how” we received and heard not just “what” we received and heard.

When our individual churches were established, it was with great joy, anticipation of glorifying the Lord, and being steadfast in our pursuit of Him. Our hearts were directed to the things of God, and we had a passion for His name. Jesus asks us to revisit that moment, hold fast to it, and repent (or turn back to it). If we fail to do so, He “will come upon” us as a thief. It will be sudden, and it will be final.

Those who aren’t ready at the rapture will be left behind to suffer through the tribulation period when the world will be plunged into complete disarray. Those who aren’t ready at their death will be separated from God eternally. And those who aren’t ready at the apostasy of a church won’t even know that they are being led down a road of error which will end in destruction. We need to be ever on guard and continuously “remember” our Lord and His mighty deeds which were done on our behalf.

Lord God, as the psalmist said so long ago, “I remember Your name in the night, O Lord, And I keep Your law.” Help us to continuously ponder the great things You have done for us and to never forget Your love, grace, and mercy – all poured out on us at the cross. Thank You for Your patience and caring direction in our lives. Amen.

Friday, 2 October 2020

Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. Revelation 3:2

The Lord just addressed the insufficiency of the church at Sardis. They have a name as if they are alive, but they are dead. Because of this, He says, “Be watchful.” The Greek is a present participle. It should say, “Be waking.” Having been called “dead,” He is telling them that they are as if in a deadened slumber. But they were rather to stay awake and attentive. A good word to signify the intent is to remain vigilant. They are to be constantly on guard. Further, He says, “and strengthen the things which remain.”

Not only were they to guard against those things that can come in and infect a church, but they were to bolster those things within the church that were of right quality and worthy of commendation. In the case of Sardis, it is a veiled note of commendation, without over-complementing them. They had things that were still of value, but they needed to shore them up for the long-term health of the church.

In this, the Lord doesn’t tell them what is to be strengthened, but in a couple of verses, He will provide a note that there are still people of proper faith and conduct in the church. In order to strengthen the things that remained, it would be good to consult those people and find out what they are doing right.

Of those few things that remain, the Lord next says, “that are ready to die.” There is little left even in the good things they are doing. The embers of the fires are almost extinguished, but with a little breath brought upon them, they will begin to glow. In this, more of what is right and proper can be added, and the fire that had once been strong and active can, once again, be brought back to life. But for now, they were all but dead. As Jesus says, “for I have not found your works perfect before God.”

The word translated as “perfect,” here, signifies being fulfilled or completed. Their works failed to meet the appropriate end for which they were intended. God is the standard of all things. His perfection demands our perfection. His completion of things demonstrates our need to bring things to completion. Whatever was not being accomplished at Sardis needed to be brought to a satisfactory end.

If they were telling people about Jesus, they needed to then introduce the gospel – conveying the fact that their audience needed to believe in Jesus. If they were telling people that God is holy, they needed to then explain to the people that they too needed to be holy. Whatever the church at Sardis was doing, they failed to close up the loose theological ends. They produced no sufficiency of theology, and no soundness of faith.

Life application: All hope is not lost for those at Sardis, but they had really let things slip. Jesus warns them to:

Be watchful – they were relying on past deeds and not looking for new opportunities to move the church forward in a Christ-honoring way. They were also obviously not looking out for trouble that could infiltrate their worship, their doctrine, and their congregation. As the psalmist said so long ago –

“I rise before the dawning of the morning,
And cry for help;
I hope in Your word.
My eyes are awake through the night watches,
That I may meditate on Your word.” Psalm 119:147, 148

The psalmist would rise early, petition God for help in his walk, put his trust in God’s word, and stay alert even in the night, always watchful for the enemy’s troubling attacks.

Strengthen the things that remain – there isn’t much good left, but they can at least shore up the walls of the few things they were getting right. Churches that have let things slip will normally still be strong in one area or another simply because they feel their works will justify them. They won’t of course, but these works aren’t wrong in and of themselves. They just need to be redirected to the honoring of Jesus instead of some supposed self-justification.

In his closing, Jesus notes that He hasn’t found their works perfect before God. This in no way indicates Jesus is less than God. As a member of the Godhead, He is subordinating Himself to it in this phrase. He is the second member of the Trinity and therefore He has a right to evaluate and make judgments on the works of His church and its members.

Lord Jesus, thank You for watching over our congregations and correcting us when necessary. On our own we tend to stray and get misdirected. So please keep us on the right and proper path which will honor You and keep us from personal boasting. To Your glory! Amen.

Thursday, 1 October 2020

“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write,
‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. Revelation 3:1

Chapter 3 begins with the address to the fifth church singled out by Jesus. He begins with, “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write.” As before, the “angel” is probably a designation for the leader of the church, not an angelic being. The church is in “Sardis.” In Greek, Sardis is a plural noun and is translated by the NET Bible as “Red Ones.” The etymology of the name is uncertain.

Of Sardis, Charles Ellicott (1819-1905) writes –

“The modern Sart—now a mere village of paltry huts—once the capital of the old Lydian monarchy, and associated with the names of Crœsus, Cyrus, and Alexander. It was the great entrepôt of dyed woollen fabrics, the sheep of “many-flocked” Phrygia supplying the raw material. The art of dyeing is said to have been invented here; and many-coloured carpets or mats found in the houses of the wealthy were manufactured here. The metal known as electrum, a kind of bronze, was the produce of Sardis; and in early times gold-dust was found in the sand of the Pactolus, the little stream which passed through the Agora of Sardis, and washed the walls of the Temple of Cybele. It is said that gold and silver coins were first, minted at Sardis, and that resident merchants first became a class there. An earthquake laid it waste in the reign of Tiberius; a pestilence followed, but the city seems to have recovered its prosperity before the date of this epistle. The worship of Cybele was the prevailing one; its rites, like those of Dionysos and Aphrodite, encouraged impurity.”

To the church in this location, Jesus’ opening words are, “These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God.” Here the symbology is different than presented in Revelation 1. Of the seven Spirits, it said, “and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne” (1:4). The Greek word translated as “has” signifies to have, hold, or possess. Christ is the One to whom these seven Spirits of God are ascribed. They are before the throne, but they are possessed by Christ. That was explained in the words of Isaiah 11 cited in the 1:4 commentary –

“There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse,
And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
² The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him,
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The Spirit of counsel and might,
The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.” Isaiah 11:1, 2

Upon the Son rests the “sevenfold Spirit” – The Spirit of the (1) Lord, meaning Yehovah; the Spirit of (2) wisdom and (3) understanding; the Spirit of (4) counsel and (5) might; the Spirit of (6) knowledge and of (7) the fear of the Lord. Thus, He “has” or “possesses” these seven Spirits of God.

Further, Christ Jesus says to the church in Sardis, “and the seven stars.” In verse 1:16, it noted that the seven stars were in His right hand. Those seven stars were explicitly explained in verse 1:20 as being “the angels of the seven churches.” Being in His right hand, it then means that He has total control and authority over them. With this understood, He then says, “I know your works.”

It is the same phrase repeated to each of the churches so far. He is letting each church know that He is fully aware of every deed they do. Nothing escapes His sight. With this said, He then explains what their most prominent works are with the words, “that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.”

Because of these words, it becomes clear why He chose to say to this church that He has the seven Spirits of God. He has the Spirit of Yehovah and thus possesses all authority. He has the Spirit of wisdom and will rightly apply that authority toward this dead church. He has the Spirit of understanding concerning their situation, their needs, their destiny, and so on. He has the Spirit of counsel to redirect them, if they will but listen. He has the Spirit of might to execute punishment upon them. He has the Spirit of knowledge that knows the end from the beginning and can lead the church in the correct path, if they will but follow. And, He has the Spirit of the fear of the Lord – something they currently lack (as will be seen), and which is necessary for them to also possess in order to avoid the promised judgment upon them.

The church at Sardis possessed all kinds of works. People saw the things they did and certainly passed on to others how industrious they were – “you have a name that you are alive.” However, all the works in the world, without faith to accompany them, are useless. James speaks about faith without works being dead, but the truth is that any work not done in faith is of no value to the Lord.

Life application: As noted, the name Sardis means “Red Ones.” It is fitting of a church full of dead people. Isaiah saw the need for cleansing from a dead-red condition almost eight hundred years earlier – “‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ Says the LORD, ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool’” (Isaiah 1:18).

It isn’t our “works” that will cleanse us. In fact, the things we do often separate us further from God. This is because we are trusting in ourselves to earn eternal life and are thus setting ourselves up as idols. It is amazing how the very things we think will earn God’s favor only cause the division to widen. Jesus has done all that is necessary for us to be saved, and it is faith in Him alone that can justify us.

The health of the church is evaluated, and then Jesus exercises His authority. In the case of Sardis, the checking had been done and the church was found deficient. They, as a group, receive no commendation – only rebuke. Coming up in a few verses is a great word of comfort for some individuals though.

Lord, please look on our churches, and give us the desire to revitalize them in the areas where they are found spiritually dead. Help us to do works that are honoring of and for You. And Lord, help us to never trust in our deeds in order to obtain Your favor. Rather, let us do them only to bring You glory. Amen.